Crystal Tears
by MadrigalPrism
Summary: He tells the story of a queen and the knight who wants to save her. He tells the story to keep both of them alive. He tells the story with the hope of one day seeing the Happily Ever After he knows they deserve. But for now he holds onto his sorrow and tells the story to keep their memories alive.


_Once upon a time there lived a beautiful young woman. She was innocent and naive. Little did she know of the destiny her mother had planned for her. Try as she might her light did eventually fade on that fateful day. As all young women she fell in love with a handsome commoner. One she saw a future with. Alas it was not meant to be for her mother discovered their secret rendezvous. Angrily she ended the man's life without a second glance. In that moment she crushed whatever light her daughter had left, starting her on her walk on the dark path. _

_Her life spun out of control from there. An arranged marriage waited for her, an adorable stepdaughter who turned out to be the one who told her mother, and a miserable life. Eventually turning against her mother, she looked for power. A dark power for its seductive whispers of control seduced her. But control was not the one thing she got. _

_The broken shells of her heart were impossible to mend. Over the years her powers grew but so did her misery. She watched the little girl grow into a beautiful woman. The girl fell in love with her Prince Charming, destined to live happily ever after. Wedding bells rang in the distance. It was then she heard the anger and hatred whisper in her ear. Ensnaring her with her lust for power, she searched for the most evilest curse she could find. _

_Luck was on her side when she discovered the eternal curse. The one that would change everything and give her her happily ever after. Greedily she clutched it to her breast, dancing with laughter as she went about to casting it. Unfortunately she missed a key ingredient, rendering it useless. Paying a visit to the man who was rumored to have created it, he told her the secret to its success. It sent a chill down her spine. For once the mask slipped, revealing the innocent young woman beneath. In a flash it was gone and she did the deed._

_With the heart of the only person she still loved in her hand, she cast the curse without hesitation. Panic gripped the land, people feared for their lives, and good took its stand against evil. Little did good know of how powerless they were. The curse devoured the land and its people whole. Kingdoms were destroyed, land rotted, and good's light faded away._

_For twenty eight years, good lived under the control of evil. No one had their happily ever after. True love was a silent whisper on the wind. The beautiful woman from before no longer lived. Not in this dark world. One day, however, a little bit of the woman returned. She was overcome with wanting of a child. Soon enough there was a sleeping bundle in her arms. That day she smiled her first real smile. _

_As the baby grew, she poured her love into him. He made her love again. He brought the light back into her eyes. It wasn't long before he turned into her little savior. Falling in love all over again with the goofy smile and the giggles, bits and pieces of the woman returned. Alas it, too, was short lived. The boy was given a book on his 8th birthday. The book told of the truth he saw and his next steps destroyed the broken woman who tried desperately to love and be loved._

_He left the town and found his real mother. Bringing her back, they worked together to break the curse. Much against the wishes of the Evil Queen. But it could not be helped. Good wasn't meant to be ruled by evil and evil wasn't meant to win. Stories never went like that. Convinced as he was, the boy never saw the woman who loved him most of his life as good. No, he saw her as cruel, twisted, evil, and worst of all incapable of love. _

_Then good had success. They broke the curse, returning everyone's memories, and the real adventure began from there. Suddenly people sleeping in their real world awakened and entered the town. The Evil Queen was backed into a corner until her mother returned. Clutching onto the precious feeling of love, she fell under her mother's charm and magic. What happened next were acts of desperation no one saw until it was too late._

_War followed. It was a difficult and tiring battle yet in the end like all stories say good won. But not without losses of their own. Unable to bear much of the magical struggle, the town dissolved sending everyone back home. Order was quickly restored and the Evil Queen was put on trial. Much of her life she wasn't dealt a fair hand, and this trial would be no different._

_The people found her guilty and sentenced her to death. She fought against the accusation, pleading with the child she raised. Unfortunately he turned his back on her. Seeing that she was all alone, always had been, and always would be, the queen left. Banishing herself not to her castle but further away. No one knew where she went. No one truly cared. There was much to occupy their time with than a wicked heartbroken witch. _

_As the land was restored, the kingdoms were rebuilt, and the boy grew into a man. His real family by his side and a smile on his lips that lit up his eyes. He saw this was how it was always meant to be. Everyone agreed, except for one person. The savior. The White Knight. In all his years he failed to see how torn his real mother was, never noticing the fake smiles she plastered on, and the empty laughs she included at just the right time. He was convinced she loved him and he wasn't wrong._

_The knight loved her son very much. Having a family was new and overwhelming for her but soon she grew to like it. Except the entire time of their happiness, she felt a small voice whispering in the back of her mind causing her heart to ache. People clapped and cheered for her, branding her with the title of savior. Problem was she never felt like a savior. Saviors save everyone not just a select few. She failed to save the one person who needed it most._

_It wouldn't be until the boy's 15th birthday that his mother decided to leave. The time was right. He was old enough to make his own decisions and he loved being a prince. The knight accepted that. At midnight she slipped out into the night, never to return again. Her mission: search for the Evil Queen. _

_Her family tried to find her without much success. Soon they realized she didn't want to be found. But everyone kept the hope alive that one day their hero would return to them. And so life continued on. There was still much happiness but with an added sorrow. _

_When the boy turned 17, he fell in love. Two years later he married his true love. They were happy together even having a little daughter of their own. While he was happy, he couldn't help thinking back to the past. It was then he realized he ruined someone's life, someone very dear to him. At first he couldn't remember the woman but it didn't take long for her face to appear in his mind. Her name left his lips with the wind. Sorrow and guilt clutched his heart. And when he felt the warm summer breeze around him, he broke down. His tears rained to the ground as everything flashed through his mind. His selfishness, his cruelty, his utter conviction of the woman's guilt. He never gave her a chance even when she continued to stand in his corner. He personally led the execution of the Evil Queen, the woman who loved him._

_The man left his family, saying this was something he had to do. If he didn't get the peace he wanted, he'd return home and fulfill his life with his family. His wife told him to be careful. And so he started his journey. _

_Heading north he discovered the ruined castle he knew once belonged to the Evil Queen. Barely anything of it stood anymore. From there he continued searching, surely she couldn't be dead. It was impossible for witches to die. His search led him from one end of the world to the next. Every time he found nothing. Giving up hope, he made his way back home. His five year quest coming to an end. It was then he stumbled upon a beautiful ruin deep in the southern deserts. _

_Curiosity told him to explore and explore he did. To his surprise he found one area still alive. There grew a beautiful apple tree as large as a giant oak. Its fruit the size of a large rock and as red as the glowing sun. He saw luscious grass growing around the tree before he saw a stone staircase. Slowly making his way up the half spiral, what he found surprised him. _

_On a stone block rested a crystal coffin. The sun's rays reflected off the surface, giving it a royal touch. When he walked closer, he felt his heart tightened. Tears ran down his face as he looked upon the peaceful face of the woman who raised him, the woman he pushed away. Here lied the Evil Queen in her eternal slumber. Not far from the coffin was another shape. This one too made of crystal._

_Crouching next to it to get a closer look, the man's heart stopped. There kneeling before the coffin was the White Knight. His mother had been turned to crystal, every feature beautifully etched into the smooth surface. She wore the armor only befitting of a knight. One hand over her heart, the other on the hilt of her sword. with her head bowed, he couldn't help notice the sorrow forever imprinted on her face. Gently reaching up to touch her cheek, he felt the tears._

_No matter how many times he tried to apologize, magic did not return the two women to him. He tried to break them out only to have the crystal remain unscratched. It was then he noticed the piece of paper in the knight's hand. Carefully freeing it, he read the letter his mother had wrote for him. Then with one last look, he returned home. His heart heavy with sorrow. _

_He did what was right and handed the letter over to his grandparents. While his grandmother wept, his grandfather accepted the news. He had a feeling the man always knew. Returning to his family, the prince and his wife had two more children. While his heart still ached with sorrow from losing the most important people in his life, he had his happily ever after._

"But daddy, what was written on the note?" asked the child when the story finished.

Henry smiled softly. He remembered the words to this day, "When the world has forgotten us, we will return and until my queen wakes up, I will stay by her side. Protecting her in life and death, for she is the one who needed saving more than anyone else. I failed to do that. I'm no savior until she forgives me. Grieve not for me, my sweet Henry, one day we will be a family again. A real family."

The child was quiet for a long time. "Did the queen forgive the knight?"

"No, sweetheart," said Henry, "She's still sleeping."

"Why didn't the knight kiss the queen? You said True Love's Kiss breaks every curse."

"Because it wasn't a spell that put the queen in her eternal sleep. Her heart was broken and the pain overwhelmed her. Now she sleeps on forever until she finds a way back."

"Will she come back?"

"I hope so."

"Is the knight helping her?"

Henry smiled, "The White Knight is the only one who can." His youngest daughter smiled, "Now, go to sleep, little one." He leaned forward to kiss her forehead, "Sweet dreams."

"Night, daddy," the little girl cuddled into her blanket clutching her pony stuffed animal.

Rising to his feet, he walked out of the room before allowing the tears to fall. He missed his parents to this very day and there wasn't a moment that went by when he wished he could changed everything. Walking outside he looked at the sky, seeing two stars shining brightly. "Take good care of her, Emma."

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**Had to get that out. Whoa, my first one shot! Unless people want me to continue... I'm going back to update something else. Let me know what you thought: loved it, hated it, cried like a baby. Share your thoughts!  
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